Managing stress, achieving success: A great list of recent articles for entrepreneurs

Oct 28, 2011

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Reprinted with permission from Smallbiztrends.com. See the original post here.

Managing stress in small business is a part of the territory. How stressful is the work environment in your company? And how do you make a difference? What if you ran a small business in need of improvement?Where would you begin to make the necessary changes? Here is a list of resources to get you started.

Management

5 tips to manage your relationship with your boss. Believe it or not, bosses are human beings just like you. Some of them are more difficult to work for than others. You must remember that many of them are under extreme work stress which may affect their disposition. However, being able to establish a good working relationship with your boss will result in increasing your happiness and success at work. The article presents suggestions on how to develop this relationship. Main ST

Stress management key to keeping business (and owner) alive. Owning a small business is bound to create more stress than if you worked for someone else. You work more hours, get less rest, and have many more and different responsibilities. Finding the right balance between work and life is crucial both for you business and for you personally. The article lists suggestions on reducing and controlling stress in your life. To reduce work stress, an effective management structure and finding qualified help are probably the two most effective solutions. Business News Daily

Techniques

How to stage a small business comeback. Your business is floundering. You’re having cash flow problems. The first thing you have to look at is what caused the problem. Is it the sluggish economy? Is it your business model or your marketing plan? Have you lost the passion that you had when you started? This article suggests the need to maybe look outside you organization for help and guidance, taking a fresh look at cutting costs and/or adjusting prices, and redefining your business so as to differentiate yourself from your competition. Entrepreneur

Success Stories

From business failure to multimillion-dollar “green” niche. Sometimes it takes a difficult success story to encourage entrepreneurs and small business owners to continue to pursue their dreams and ideas. The account of Marty Metro should fit the bill. It displays the time and the failures and the disappointments that a person trying to start and run a small business sometimes must endure. However, more importantly it also demonstrates what inspiration, innovation, and perseverance can accomplish. Entrepreneur

Business strategies from a billionaire. Article is an interview with billionaire Ted Leonsis. He talks about the importance of being happy as well as successful. He explains the double-bottom line business model and how it helps an organization and people personally. Inc.com

Expansion

Overcoming the fear factor in pricing. How do you price your product or service? When you first start your business, you believe you have developed a good product or service and the one thing you must do is attract customers. This is more an art than a science. As your business grows and you add more employees, you must become more sure the relationship between price and costs. Pricing becomes more of a science than an art. Depending on the type of business you have and the level of competition that exists will help determine how you price your product or service. You must devise some type of pricing formula and refine it over time. Doing nothing or just guessing will not suffice. Good cost accounting can help. You’re the Boss

Avoiding the growth trap. When do you expand? Why do you expand? Do you expand? Entrepreneurs seem to have this yearning to grow and to grow as rapidly as they can. Sometimes they forget to check what effect rapid growth has on their profitability. What are your priorities? Is growth worth such things as the influence of outside capital, the additional risks, the training of new employees, potential travel, more stress, and more aggravation? In addition to knowing your priorities, do you know your limitations? You’re the Boss

Self-improvement

The 3 secrets to extremely loyal employees. The loyalty of your employees is just as important as the loyalty of your customers. Your employees will either bring your goals for your enterprise to fruition or they will assure mediocrity or failure. You must work at building loyalty. Evaluate your people and rid yourself of those who do not or have not exhibited loyalty. You must show loyalty to your employees if you hope to receive it from them. You show you care if you work at making their jobs easier. Finally you must work at keeping the lines of communication to and from your employees open. Open Forum

Wanna Make More Money? Make Your Employees Happy! There is a definite link between the attitudes and morale of a company’s employees and the financial performance, employee retention, and customer loyalty of the company. One of the biggest problems today is that most employees aren’t happy. What do we do? According to a rather extensive study, the one thing that employees want most is to be able to do what they do best. They also want the opportunity for career development. They also are looking for some things from managers and organizational heads. Open Forum